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Renowned automotive designer
Tom Tjaarda will be the honored guest at this year’s
ItalianCarFest weekend in Grapevine, Texas.
Born in 1934 in Detroit,
Michigan, Tom Tjaarda had automotive design in his
blood. His father was automotive designer Joop ‘Jan’
Tjaarda van Starkenberg, who changed his name to John
Tjaarda when he came to the United States in 1923. One of
the senior Tjaarda’s designs was the very streamlined
Lincoln Zephyr of 1935. Already a young talent in high
school, Tom took second place in the General Motors
Craftmen’s Guild competition for the construction of a model
car. After graduation, he went to the University of Michigan
to study architecture.
Tom’s ability was recognized in college and he was
introduced to Luigi Segre (Ghia) by a professor. After
graduating with a degree in Architecture, he promptly went
to work in Italy. He has since had a long and illustrious
career working for Italian automotive manufacturers and
design houses such as Ghia, Pininfarina, Ital Styling (later
renamed Italdesign) and Fiat. He still lives in Turin,
Italy. Mr. Tjaarda is probably most well known for his
designs of the DeTomaso Pantera, Ferrari 365 GT California
Spider, Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 and Fiat 124 Spider. These iconic
designs have made him very popular with Italian car
enthusiasts in the United States, where Mr. Tjaarda is
invited to attend the most prestigious cars shows in the
capacity of honored guest or respected concours judge.
Although acclaimed for his I-car designs, Tom has also
worked on designs or concept cars for VW, Mercedes,
Chevrolet, Ford, Isuzu, Saab, Chrysler, Suzuki and others. Some of his most recent work is the recently unveiled Shelby
Series 2, a redesign of the Shelby Series 1. More
information on Tom Tjaarda and his designs can be seen at
www.tom-tjaarda.net.
ItalianCarFest is a weekend
gathering of Italian cars and two-wheelers in Grapevine,
Texas (near Dallas/Fort Worth). This year’s show will
feature a special area to visit with Tom Tjaarda and view
some of the cars he designed. Included in this area will be
a DeTomaso
Pantera, Fiat 124
Spider, Ferrari
330 GT 2+2 and DeTomaso Longchamp GTS.
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